Jesus’ favorite way to refer to himself was as the “Son of Man.” The phrase occurs sixty-six times in the Synoptic Gospels and twelve times in the book of John. Why did Jesus refer to himself with that phrase?

There are several answers to that question, but the most probable requires us to consider his audience, the Jewish people. The phrase is rooted in the Old Testament as simply referring to “son of Adam.” In other words, Jesus was a “human being” descended from Adam. If we combine that understanding with a prophecy from Daniel, we come to the complete truth. Daniel prophesied that the Messiah would be “one like a son of man” who would be given “dominion and glory and a kingdom” (Daniel 7:13–14). Daniel prophesied that the Messiah would be a human being but with divine power and authority.

Christmas was the moment Daniel’s prophecy was fully revealed. Jesus was born of a virgin because God was his Father. Jesus was a human baby with divine purpose.

Many will attend a Christmas Eve service tonight yet still attempt to explain the birth of Christ in human terms. They think of him as a good teacher, a prophet, or a “religious figure.” People still struggle with the idea of a miraculous conception. But people of faith understand that the Messiah whom Daniel prophesied was revealed in Jesus Christ. Jesus preferred to call himself the Son of Man because that was the full truth of his nature.

Jesus told those listening who he was and why he had come when he said, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). When he referred to himself with that phrase, he was saying, “I am your Messiah.” Why didn’t everyone understand? The bigger question is, “Why didn’t the Jewish leaders, the most studied of the Jewish nation, believe?” They should have known, and they should have pointed God’s people to Jesus as their Messiah. John the Baptist did. Jesus was the Son of Man, but he wasn’t the Messiah the Jewish leaders wanted him to be, so they didn’t believe. The same is true for people today. There is plenty of theological and historical proof for our faith, but faith is only for those who want to believe.

Wisdom is understanding that the gift of Jesus is our treasure. Wisdom is needed to understand and accept that Jesus was and is the Son of Man.